At that mont, a short, frail figure slowly stepped out from Rasa's side.
Chiyo.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked toward the Konoha battle line opposite them. Her gaze swept across those tense and watchful faces, then finally settled on the two figures standing at the very front. She let out a cold laugh and said mockingly, "Heh."
"Why is it that of Konoha's Sannin, only two showed up today?"
Chiyo's gaze swept up and down the Konoha camp.
"Where's that snake-playing brat? Dead? Or hiding in so gutter, too scared to co out?"
As soon as her words fell, a wave of low laughter rose from the Sunagakure ranks.
At the front of Konoha's formation, Jiraiya said nothing. He rely glanced at Tsunade beside him. Arguing with a woman was the sort of thing better left to another woman.
Tsunade stepped forward, crossed her arms over her chest, and curled her lips into a faint smile.
"Well, if it isn't Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure. That does remind of sothing."
Tsunade's eyes traveled over Chiyo's face in a slow circle, then deliberately flicked from ti to ti toward the nearby Rasa.
"You still have the Third Kazekage's human puppet displayed in your house, don't you? Oh? Was staring at it every day not enough, so this ti you brought the new Kazekage out for a walk too?"
Chiyo's expression stiffened slightly, and the laughter from the Sunagakure side abruptly died.
But Tsunade had no intention of stopping. Her gaze shifted to Rasa, and a aningful smile appeared on her face.
"So the one beside you is the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa-dono, hm? Then you'd better be careful."
"If Chiyo could turn the Third Kazekage into a human puppet and keep him hidden away in her inner chambers, treasuring him like a toy in the palm of her hand…"
At that, Tsunade tilted her head, her smile growing even more teasing as she added in a tone of mock goodwill, "Then one day, on a whim, she might just turn Rasa-dono into a human puppet too and send you off to keep the Third Kazekage company. Heh…"
The Sunagakure camp fell utterly silent. The smile vanished completely from Chiyo's face, and all that remained in her eyes was gloom.
Rasa's expression did not change, but his gaze darkened slightly, and a faint storm rose in his heart as well.
After the war began, Konoha had imdiately spread word that the Third Kazekage was dead, and that the killer was Sasori.
At first, Rasa had not believed it. But later, as ti passed, as he reviewed those files again and again, the overlooked details had begun to surface little by little.
The last place the Third Kazekage had appeared was at the border of the Land of Rivers. At the ti, he had gone there to recruit that small clan that possessed the Red Eye.
Among those accompanying him were Sasori, as well as several mbers of the Kazekage's guard unit.
Later, all of those people disappeared. Neither the living nor the dead were ever found.
Given the Third Kazekage's strength, along with his guard unit, even if they had been ambushed, it would have been impossible for them to vanish without putting up any resistance at all. In the entire shinobi world, there simply did not exist anyone capable of making him disappear so completely and so silently.
Unless—
The one who made the move had been one of their own.
Once that thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.
Sasori—Chiyo's grandson, Sunagakure's youngest puppet prodigy. He had inherited Chiyo's poison arts and was skilled in all kinds of assassination thods. If he had struck when the Third Kazekage was completely off guard, if he had secretly poisoned him…
Then there was a very high chance that what Konoha said was true.
The Third Kazekage really had died at the hands of one of their own.
Rasa suppressed the turbulent thoughts surging inside him, while his expression remained as calm and steady as ever.
"Rasa, the Third's matter absolutely was not—"
Chiyo's voice ca from beside him. She wanted to say sothing, but before she could finish, Rasa raised a hand and cut her off.
"Elder Chiyo."
He did not look at her. His gaze remained fixed on the Konoha camp opposite them.
"This is Konoha trying to sow discord."
At this point, it no longer mattered who the killer really was.
Once war had begun, there was only one common enemy.
No matter what the truth behind the Third Kazekage's death was, the bla had to be pinned on Konoha, and could only be pinned on Konoha.
At a ti like this, not a single word that might affect unity could be spoken, and not a single thing that might affect unity could be done.
Rasa took a deep breath and slowly raised his hand.
"People of Sunagakure!"
His voice suddenly rose, drowning out every other sound on the battlefield.
"Prepare to attack!"
The mont his words fell, a dense chorus of hand seals erupted from within Sunagakure's formation.
Several hundred shinobi at the very front ford seals almost simultaneously, then slamd their palms onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
"Earth Release: Earth and Wood Technique!"
"Earth Release—!"
Rumble—!
The ground shook violently. The earth at the foot of Kikyō Pass trembled as if in an earthquake. Cracks spread toward the mountainside like giant serpents, while hard rock began to loosen and dirt poured down in streams.
Sunagakure was trying to reshape the terrain—flatten the slope, fill in the gullies, and pave the way for the main force behind them.
After all, not everyone possessed the overwhelming might of Uchiha Madara, who could shatter mountains with a single slash. In conventional warfare, every inch of terrain advantage had to be bought with lives.
Right after that, a series of massive explosive booms rang out from the rear of Sunagakure's formation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
More than a dozen clouds of white smoke exploded almost at the sa ti. From within the smoke charged all kinds of gigantic beasts—enormous sand scorpions brandishing venomous pincers, giant lizards clad in heavy armor… These specially bred large summoning beasts roared as they rushed forward, each step making the ground tremble.
They were shock troops and living shields, ant to draw Konoha's initial firepower.
Following close behind them were dense swarms of puppets.
Hundreds of puppets of all shapes and forms surged forward like a tidal wave. So ran on all fours like beasts, sprinting wildly, while others swept through the air, casting shadows from above. The puppet masters followed closely behind, their fingers flickering as they manipulated these killing machines, driving them toward Kikyō Pass. Around them were Sunagakure shinobi wielding blades and forming hand seals—they were interwoven with the puppets into mixed formations, covering one another and acting in mutual support.
Sunagakure's offensive was like a black tide, sweeping toward Kikyō Pass.
"Prepare!"
From within the Konoha ranks, Jiraiya's voice thundered just as loudly.
At the very front, the Earth Release shinobi ford seals simultaneously and slamd their hands onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth Formation Wall!"
Layer upon layer of massive earthen walls rose from the foot of the mountain, stacking and interlocking into a dense network, firmly resisting Sunagakure's surging terrain reshaping. Soil and rock collided violently before the mountain, producing deep, thunderous booms.
Imdiately after, Jiraiya bit his finger, blood streaking across his palm as he ford seals with both hands.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke far larger than any of Sunagakure's summoned beasts exploded outward. From within it, a gigantic toad suddenly appeared, landing before the Konoha formation.
A pipe hung from its mouth, and a short blade was strapped at its waist. Its eyes slanted lazily as it glanced at the oncoming enemy.
"Jiraiya, another one of these big battles, huh."
Gamabunta exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone relaxed as he glanced around.
Jiraiya leapt upward, landing atop Gamabunta's head. He took a deep breath as chakra surged wildly within his body.
"Bunta, oil!"
"Got it!"
Gamabunta opened his massive mouth, his abdon swelling abruptly—and then!
Whoosh!!!
Thick toad oil gushed out like a waterfall. In that sa instant, a blazing stream of fire burst from Jiraiya's mouth, igniting the oil that filled the sky!
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Fla Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Behind Jiraiya, dozens of Konoha Wind Release shinobi who had long been on standby moved at once. Gust after gust of fierce wind roared out, pouring precisely into that sea of flas!
Wind fed the flas, and the flas rode the wind's might!
The already towering inferno surged several tis over in an instant, carried by the raging winds. It transford into a sky-covering wave of fire that crashed forward with overwhelming force toward the front ranks of the advancing Sunagakure formation!
The summoned beasts at the front were swallowed by the flas, shrieking as they rolled and collapsed within the inferno. The puppet forces behind them charged into the sea of fire, only for the puppets to burn rapidly, turning into moving balls of fla.
Just as the massive wave of fire was about to crash into the Sunagakure assault shinobi and puppet masters further behind, the summoned beasts and puppets at the front had already served as shields, absorbing the initial firepower and buying ti for those in the rear to react.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Dozens of Sunagakure shinobi hastily ford seals, raising wall after wall of water and earth in an attempt to block the incoming inferno. But the flas were too fierce—the water walls evaporated, and the earthen walls cracked under the heat.
It was on the verge of breaking through.
But at that very mont, a golden light surged from within the Sunagakure ranks. A massive golden wall suddenly rose, blocking the sea of fire!
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Great Wall!
The instant the inferno slamd into the wall of gold dust, an earth-shaking explosion erupted. Flas licked wildly across the golden surface, but the gold dust surged and flowed at astonishing speed, holding the fire firmly at bay before the formation.
Monts later, the flas finally died out, and the golden wall gradually dissipated.
On Kikyō Pass, Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, looking toward Rasa's calm face within the Sunagakure main formation.
Rasa.
This newly appointed Fourth Kazekage truly had so skill.
At the sa ti—
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Tsunade pressed one palm to the ground, chakra pouring into it.
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke exploded, and a massive slug appeared within the Konoha formation. Its body was soft and enormous, completely different from a ferocious combat-type summon like Gamabunta.
"Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade said nothing, only nodding slightly. The slug's massive body trembled—and then split apart.
Countless smaller slugs separated from it, surging forward like a tide. They crawled over rocks, crossed earthen walls, and climbed onto every Konoha shinobi standing at the front lines with astonishing speed.
One shinobi glanced down at the slick little creature on his shoulder and couldn't help but grin.
"With Katsuyu-sama here, I feel a lot more at ease."
The small slug did not respond, rely resting quietly on his shoulder, its antennae swaying slightly.
Tsunade stood in place, arms crossed, her gaze passing over the battlefield and landing on that frail figure on the opposing side.
Chiyo was looking at her as well.
Across the flas and smoke, the two won's gazes t from afar.
In the next mont—
"Kill!"
"Charge!"
The roars of Sunagakure and Konoha rang out almost simultaneously. Before Kikyō Pass, that black tide and Konoha's defensive line finally crashed into each other with full force!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Boom! Boom!
Shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags filled the sky as they were hurled toward one another. Before the two sides had even fully closed the distance, casualties had already begun to appear.
anwhile, deep within the Sunagakure formation, an elite unit remained motionless.
Pakura stood at the very front of the unit. Her orange eyes pierced through the smoke and slaughter of the battlefield, repeatedly scanning the figures within Konoha's ranks.
She had a more important mission—one personally assigned to her by Kazekage Rasa and Elder Chiyo.
To kill Higashino Shinichi.
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